


Rescue Me!

by Blue_Night



Category: Football RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Attempted Kidnapping, First Love, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, School Trip, Teenagers, bodyguards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-06-08 21:19:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6873697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Night/pseuds/Blue_Night
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marco Reus is the son of an important scientist who is in danger of being kidnapped by someone blackmailing his father. Erik is on a school trip with his class. What will happen when both teenagers meet in Speyer and have to flee from the kidnappers trying to capture Marco? Will Erik be able to help him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Urgent Need

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GoForGoals](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoForGoals/gifts).



> Here it is, sweetie, the idea I promised you to write after our wonderful day together in Speyer, at least the first chapter. I have planned five chapters, we'll see how it will turn out. :-) I mused about something taking place in Speyer for a rather long time, I hope you will like what came out. :-) I didn't want to use the title 'Save me' to not mess with your story, but I found 'Rescue Me!' very fitting for this little adventure of our sweet boys. :-)
> 
> My dear readers, I have lived in Speyer for three years when I was a trainee, it is a beautiful city and my last visit there together with lovely GoForGoals inspired me to write this story. Those three years were some of the happiest years in my life and if you'll ever have the time to visit this city and its Cathedral, please do it, it will be worth it. Anyway, enjoy this little WIP and please leave something for me if you liked it!

“How long? I really need to pee!” The blond boy sprawling in the backseat of the black limousine with the darkly tinted windows grizzled, craning his neck to peer out of the side window. The man sitting in the passenger's seat didn't bother to turn his head, attentively observing the landscape rolling past them as he answered to the complaint of his young charge. “As long as it takes, Marco. We told you to stay down with your head, it's for your own safety. Do you really want to make our job harder than it already is?”

Marco Reus let out a theatrical sigh. “We're driving for hours by now. My back aches and my legs have started to cramp at least two hours ago. Plus, I really need to pee, now! How long shall I hold back? I'm not a baby wearing diapers!”

Nuri Sahin, the bodyguard in the passenger's seat snorted, unimpressed. “Lewy and I told you to not drink an entire bottle of water, Marco. It was your pighead making you do that.” He shot a quick glance back at the seventeen years old teenager shifting uncomfortably his weight from one butt cheek to the other. Marco couldn't see his eyes due to the dark sunglasses the young man in his late twenties wore, but he didn't need to see them to know that the expression of the Turk's hazel-gray eyes was a mocking expression.

“That might be as it is, Nuri. But if you don't want me to wet myself and the expensive leather seat of your car, then you'll have to stop and let me take a piss!” he snapped, pulling a defeated growl from his bodyguard. Nuri sighed and went back to observing the streets to look for the next exit of the motorway they were driving on. “Take the next exit, Lewy. I think that Speyer will be the safer option than the next service plaza. I have once visited this city and I think I remember a public toilet near the cathedral.”

The other bodyguard driving the car rumbled something that could be taken as a reluctant approval, and Marco leaned back in his seat, biting his lip to distract himself from the pressure in his full bladder. He knew that he had been childish to drink so much water, but he had been more than only a little bit pissed off, scared and confused that he had had to leave his home in Dortmund in the dead of the night because someone blackmailed his father, threatening him to kidnap his son if he didn't do what the racketeer wanted him to do.

The blond teenager sighed, risking another look out of the side window. He couldn't see much, because Robert Lewandowski, his other bodyguard, was driving pretty fast, and Marco thought that his risky driving style together with the quite sensational black limousine would draw more unwanted attention and help the kidnappers to follow them than a bog-standard Volkswagen would have done.

There had been a car following them for a rather long time until Lewy had managed to shake them off, but they wouldn't give up, whoever it was wanting to kidnap him, and Marco hated the thought of having to flee through the entire country, maybe even leave Germany and seek shelter somewhere far away from his beloved home for an unknown amount of time.

Robert eventually stopping the car in a parking lot pulled him out of his musings and he craned his neck again to look where they were. Nuri gestured at him to wait until he had checked their surroundings, and Marco bit his lip again, because the prospect of being able to relieve himself any time soon threatened to open the gate to his more than full bladder in a way that he felt cold sweat break out on his forehead. When Nuri finally opened the door, Marco climbed out of the car with a pained groan, resisting the urge to press his hands against his crotch like a little boy. Luckily, Nuri and Robert wore normal clothing - dark-blue jeans and white dress shirts - instead of the well-known black suits that would have given away what kind of job the were doing to everyone, and Marco didn't protest when they took him in their middle to accompany him to the small house with the public toilet beside the impressive Cathedral where Robert had parked the car close by on a spot normally reserved for handicapped drivers, not caring about whether or not he was allowed to park. The bodyguard with the Polish roots knew that he only needed to make a phone-call to avoid serious consequences, his concern about the well-being of the boy he had to protect much bigger than his concern to break one of the many traffic laws. Not to mention that he didn't expect to stay in Speyer for longer than only the couple of minutes Marco needed to get rid of the water he had drunken earlier.

The short way leading to the toilet stretched to miles, at least that's how it felt for Marco, and he almost cried with relief when they finally reached it, just to find a throng of pupils heading towards the house like he did. They had to be pupils on a school trip, judging by their behavior, and Marco started to run without caring about Nuri and Robert shouting after him, his only goal to reach the stall that would save him from embarrassing himself just in time.

“Hey, watch out! We have been here before you!” some of the other boys complained, but Marco couldn't be considerate of them in his state, and he pressed, squeezed and snaked himself through the small crowd, pulling desperately at the door to the left of the two stalls. It was closed, of course, and Marco couldn't suppress the pained whine fleeing his throat.

“Uh, that urgent?” A voice chuckled beside him, and when Marco turned his head, he saw a teenager as tall as he himself was with short light-brown hair grinning at him. Marco most likely would have admired his handsome features and his lithe body if it hadn't been for his desperate need, and his amber-golden eyes pleaded for a wonder that would open one of the stalls for him – now.

The brunet pupil, maybe a little bit younger than he himself jerked his head. “It's really urgent, isn't it?” he asked pitiful. “You can go first.” He stepped to the side to let Marco snake himself through the small slit as the boy who had just finished tried to leave the stall, slamming the door shut and opening his jeans with trembling fingers, just one second before his bladder decided to get finally rid of its contents.

 

***

 

Erik Durm hated school trips, and he hated it to be the new pupil. It wasn't as if his classmates were unfriendly or didn't like him, but they had been together for a rather long time, and he had no clue what they were talking about when they laughed about some insider jokes or happenings of the previous year. He wasn't the one to trust other people that easily, he always chose his friends very carefully, and he felt left out as he sat on his seat in the bus that drove them to Speyer for their hiking day.

Erik would have been fine with actually going hiking, visiting some old castles in the Pfälzer Wald near Pirmasens where he now lived with his parents, but their teacher Mr. Tuchel had decided that visiting Speyer and the city's beautiful cathedral would be the better option. He had also promised that they would maybe visit the technological museum if there would be enough time, something that had made most of the girls roll their eyes, but Erik suspected that their teacher would spend so much time in the cathedral that they would have only little time left, Tuchel's eyes lightening up with pure bliss whenever he mentioned the outstanding proof of human's ecclesiastical architecture.

The young brunet watched the landscape passing by through the side window of the comfortable bus, heaving a relieved sigh when he saw the street sign announcing that the next exit was indeed Speyer, because he really needed to stretch his legs.

The bus driver slowed down and left the motorway to drive through the outer parts of the idyllic city adjoining to the big river Rhine. It was an old city, and Erik was sure that it was also a beautiful city, but he wasn't really in the mood to visit it. He would have been fine with going to school and have the afternoon off so he could play football in the club he had just joined, but they would be away from home for the entire day, and Erik suppressed another sigh.

A black car several meters behind the bus searching for a parking lot caught his attention when he stepped out of the bus with his classmates, a big limousine with dark windows. Erik mused about the car while he strode to the public toilet with the others, knowing that he wouldn't get the chance to do that when Mr. Tuchel started with his excited monologue about the cathedral and its history.

“I will wait for you before the front, please hurry!” Thomas Tuchel clapped his hands to get the attention of his students, and the girls started to whine and grizzle that they really needed to visit the toilet at first. Matze who shared the same desk with Erik chuckled. “It's always the same with them isn't it? Girls just can't hold back as long as us guys.”

Erik shot him an amused look. “Judging by your face and the way you walk, you need to use the toilet, as well, Matze, so stop mocking them.”

“It's only because of the bus,” the taller teenager defended himself. “Long drives with a bus have always this effect on me.”

Erik opened the door leading to the stalls for men. Mats, Sven, Julian and the two Romans already stood in the line, joking with each other, and Erik eyed critically the lonely urinal next to the sink but decided that he preferred his privacy instead of using the rather ugly-looking urinal, which had also a large crack and was most likely leaking if someone tried to use it. He moved forward in the line to make room for the newcomers when suddenly a blond teenager burst into the small antechamber, looking wildly around as he searched for an unoccupied stall.

“Hey, watch out! We have been here before you!” Mats told the newcomer off, scowling at him as he was pushed to the side. Julian had just entered the one Kevin had left, and Erik moved forward, watching the unknown teenager, curiously. He didn't belong to his class, and he was probably a little bit older, the blond stubble on his cheeks clear to see.

“Uh, that urgent?” he couldn't help but chuckle when the blond pulled at the left door where Julian had disappeared behind a couple of seconds ago with a pained groan, not caring about the other boys who had been waiting for much longer than him. The blond turned his head, and a pair of the most beautiful amber-golden eyes Erik had ever seen focused their attention on him now, the silent plea for a miracle to open one of the stalls making them big rounds.

Erik swallowed and his heart missed a beat when he looked into the endless depths, and he knew that he had to help the other boy before it was too late. “It's really urgent, isn't it?” he asked, his voice filled with understanding. He stepped to the side and offered: “you can go first,” just when Sven exited the right stall, and he didn't need to say that twice, because the blond squeezed himself through the small slit and slammed the door shut behind him without bothering to thank him.

Erik didn't mind that, because the sound of a zipper being pulled open rather forcefully proved to him that he had made his offer for a reason, and Matze beside him covered his mouth to suppress his amused snicker when the splashing noise of the Niagara Falls suddenly echoed in the sticky air.

“Very urgent, indeed,” the taller brunet whispered into his ear with a grin, and Erik grinned back with a wink, entering the left stall the dark-haired Roman had left open for him.

 

***

 

Nuri paced up and down before the public toilet, nervously, while Robert did the same at the backside of the small house. The young bodyguard had wanted to follow their charge into it, but Robert had decided that this would draw too much attention by the teenagers crowding inside, and that it was better to wait outside and check the surroundings. Nuri had a bad feeling, but Robert was not only the one in charge, but also the one with more experience and also his secret lover, and Nuri didn't want to risk a fight I public with him.

Guarding Marco Reus, the son of the genius scientist was his third job, and Nuri really didn't want to lose this job. Working with Robert was great, and he wouldn't fuck it up, no way. His eyes darted forth and back between the huge cathedral about twenty or thirty meters away from the much smaller building where he was standing, watching carefully the pedestrians walking by. Some of the boys left the toilet, laughing and chatting with each other, but Marco wasn't among them, and Nuri became anxious because the blond boy had entered the restroom a rather long time ago. One quick look at his watch proved to him that he was right with his suspicion, and he turned to the side to murmur into the tiny microphone hidden in the collar of his jeans jacket: “I'm entering the toilet now, Robert. Marco should already have come back at least two minutes ago.”

His earphone cracked and the young Turk flinched by the rather loud noise, trying to give himself the appearance of someone waiting for his girlfriend to come back to him after refreshing herself.

“That's probably because of the class, I have seen several boys entering the toilet before Marco. He surely had to wait for a while,” Robert's voice sounded slightly distorted through the speaker.

“I have a bad feeling, Robert. There were some boys who came after him, and they have already left. Is there another door on your side?”

“No, it isn't. Okay, go inside, but don't scare anyone!” Robert gave him permission, and Nuri nodded grimly to himself and started off towards the door just when three of the boys he had watched going inside a while ago emerged on the threshold.

Nuri entered the antechamber just to find it empty, and when he pulled at the doors to the two stalls, they were abandoned, as well.

Marco must have left the toilet, unnoticed, even though Nuri would have sworn an oath that he hadn't let the door out of his sight the entire time, and the young bodyguard had no clue where he could have gone.

 

_The right side of the Cathedral in Speyer:_

  



	2. The Adventure Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco has made it to the toilet just in time because a cute brown-haired boy saved him. Now, he wants to thank him and exchange phone-numbers with him. But Erik is already on his way to the cathedral, and Marco has to find a way to go after him without Nuri and Robert noticing it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have fun with this story, I hope you will have fun with it, as well, sweetie. :-) Maybe, it will have even more than only five chapters, we will see. 
> 
> My dear readers, please enjoy the new chapter of Marco's and Erik's little adventure and if you did, please let me know, your kudos and comments are my encouragment to go on with writing and posting.

When Marco was finally finished and dressed properly again, his knees felt like jelly and his legs buckled with relief because the unbearable pressure in his abdomen had finally faded. He had to lean against the closed door of his stall for one moment until the sudden dizziness subsided again, and he swallowed against the strong wave of homesickness that washed over him without any warning.

The teenager felt horribly lonely and sad all of a sudden, craving to drive back to Dortmund and his family, but he suppressed the tears that threatened to well up in his eyes with effort, not wanting to cry in front of the other teenagers. This thought reminded him of the handsome brunet who had stepped back in the line to rescue him from the terrible fate of wetting himself, and the memory of a pair of wonderful hazel-green eyes and the cutest grin ever revived his spirits. He unlocked the door of his stall, peering through the small slit just in time to see the owner of these incredible eyes leave the antechamber with his friends. Marco hadn't realized how long it had taken him to relieve himself and regain his composure afterwards, and he hurried to flush the toilet and wash his hands, because he really didn't want to let the brunet get out of sight. He had forgotten to thank him in his hurry, and Marco wanted to at least exchange telephone-numbers with him before leaving Speyer and most likely never seeing the cute boy again. Maybe, they could stay in contact when this nightmare was over, but if the other boy wasn't interested, Marco yet wanted to thank him for his selfless offer.

The blond seventeen years old cautiously opened the front door leading outside, craning his neck to take a weary look around. The brunet was already more than twenty meters away, chatting with another boy while they were heading towards the entrance of the big cathedral, and Marco realized that he had to hurry if he wanted to catch up with him. The only problem was Nuri standing near the door of the toilet for the ladies, because his bodyguard surely wouldn't let him go anywhere except for the car. It wasn't as if Marco wanted to flee from him and Robert, he only wanted to ask the brunet for his phone-number and then, come back to the two men who had sworn to protect him with their own lives. He had heard them talk about the car that had followed them for more than one hour before Robert had managed to shake them off when they had thought that he was asleep, and he had also heard talking them about the possibility that there could yet be another car following them without Nuri and Robert being able to notice it. The blond teenager was old enough to know that he was truly in danger and that Robert and Nuri only restrained his freedom to protect him and keep him safe and healthy, but he was a also a teenager and had just met the perfect guy who made his heart flip and he really didn't want to miss the chance of getting to know him better and find a way to stay in contact with him.

The Polish bodyguard was nowhere to be seen, and Marco used the opportunity of another group of boys entering the toilet to leave it and rush over to the tree standing a couple of meters beside the building, his eyes fixed on the dark-haired Turk who had turned his head away just for one tiny moment. He used the tree as a cover when Nuri turned his head back to the entrance, attentively watching the unknown teenagers disappearing behind the door. Then, Marco silently ran to the next tree, the football training he had had over the past years being of good use now. Marco looked around again, scanning the area for the brown-haired boy. He caught a glimpse of his dark-blue jeans jacket just before he went out of sight, and Marco let out a silent, triumphant “Ha!”, following him as quickly and quietly as possible.

Hopefully, he would be back before Nuri and Robert missed him, but if not, he didn't care about it, either, because looking into these wonderful hazel-green eyes just one more time would be worth everything, even risking the anger of his two bodyguards.

 

***

 

“Marco is what?!” Robert growled into his microphone, making Nuri flinch and squeeze his eyes shut because his ear hurt from the loud snarling of his angry lover.

“He's – he's not there any longer. I just checked the toilet, he must have left it together with these boys. I have no clue how this could happen, I swear that I watched the door the entire time. I never looked away for more than maybe half a second,” Nuri gave back, subdued, knowing that he had really screwed it up. Robert growled again, and Nuri bit his lip, struggling with his bad conscience, his fear for Marco's well-being and his fear that he would lose not only his job, but also his lover, all at once.

“I can't believe it that you let him slip, Nuri! You knew how pissed off he was. You should have known that he would try something like that!” Robert told him off as he turned around the corner of the public toilet and came into sight, heading in Nuri's direction. The Turk swallowed, standing before the small building like frozen in place, but Robert's angry words gave him new hope that the worst possible hadn't happened so far.

“You think that he simply ran away? That it wasn't the kidnappers grabbing him?” he mumbled when Robert reached him, and the Pole frowned, shaking his head about his younger lover's stupidity. “Of course, he did. Marco is very clever, don't you ever forget that again, Nuri! Plus, I don't think that two or three kidnappers entering the toilet just to drag Marco out of it again one minute later with surely causing a panic among the other boys would have slipped your attention like one single boy not wanting to be seen obviously did. You have been pretty dense, but you're not that dense!”

Nuri pulled a face by Robert's preach, but he knew that the older one was right. “I screwed it up, didn't I?” he asked, self-critical, and his lover's face softened a little bit. He brushed with his thumb over Nuri's bitten lip in a reassuring gesture. “Yes, you did, but that's not important now. It could have happened to me, as well.”

Nuri knew that this would never have happened if Robert had been the one watching the front of the house, but he was too grateful for Robert's words to object to him.

“What shall we do now?” was all he wanted to know, and Robert narrowed his eyes, observing the meadow between the toilet and the cathedral. “If I had to guess, then I would say that Marco went after the boys, for whatever reason he might have had. I'm sure that they are on a class-trip visiting the cathedral. We will go after them, too, I'm sure we will find Marco among the other pupils.” With these words, he started off towards the cathedral with firm steps, and all Nuri could do was follow him, silently praying for the miracle of finding their young charge as soon as possible, healthy and unharmed.

 

***

 

The blond boy still hadn't left his stall when Erik and Matze were finished with washing their hands and ready to leave the now empty antechamber. He shot one last glance back at the still closed door, but he couldn't stay longer without arousing any suspicion, even though he longed to talk to the unknown guy and maybe even find out at least his name. The amber-golden eyes were truly the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, and his heart missed a beat by the memory of the handsome features. But, he hadn't told anyone in his class that he liked other boys more than he would ever like girls, and he didn't want Matze to learn about his secret today of all days.

Erik sighed furtively as he stepped into the sun shining onto the meadow and the ancient cathedral, walking beside Matze to meet their teacher and the other pupils waiting for them before the huge portal. Matze's heartfelt sigh pulled him out of his rapturous thoughts about a blond boy.

“I really like Mr. Tuchel,” the taller brunet stated, “but visiting an old church is nothing very exciting!” he complained, and Erik grinned at him. “This trip isn't supposed to be exciting, Matthias, but to be informative and instructive. Besides, it isn't just a simple 'old church', this cathedral is one of the oldest and most famous cathedrals in Germany! You can have exciting in your free time, but not in school,” Erik recited, giving his voice the sound of Mr. Tuchel's voice when he talked about his hobbyhorse.

Matze shot him a disbelieving glance. “Are you drugged, Erik?” he asked almost horrified but then, joined the other boy's laughter. “You're good at that, maybe, you should be the one telling us the story of this famous and very old masonry!” he stated when they turned around the corner.

Most of their classmates were already waiting before the dark portal, shifting their weight from one foot to the other while listening to their teacher's excited monologue, the expressions of their faces showing different states of boredom and tiredness. Erik hid his grin and put on the face he hoped would look interested enough to keep Mr. Tuchel from asking him questions while his thoughts drifted back to the teenager he had saved from peeing himself in the very last minute.

“The Cathedral of Speyer is one of the most impressive proofs of Romanesque architecture, and it has also been one of the most important cathedrals on this side of the Alps for a very long time...”

Mr. Tuchel's words grazed his ears just to fade again, because Erik's attention was caught by the blond boy he longed so badly to get to know better once more, who had just appeared from behind the wall, looking furtively around as if he was searching for someone or hiding from someone. Erik wasn't quite sure which one of the two possibilities was the right one, but one thing was clear to him: the other teenager didn't want to be seen. Maybe, he was on a school trip with his class, as well, and had done something he shouldn't, damaging something or maybe, he had stolen himself away to smoke or drink alcohol. This thought made the brunet hesitate for one second, because he neither smoked nor drank much alcohol himself, but it didn't really keep him from wanting to get to know the good-looking guy better.

Erik silently moved to the side, pretending to be fascinated by the figures adorning the walls beside the portal Tuchel was talking about as he tried to get closer to the teenager coming in his direction. Matze had turned away from him, whispering with his not so secret crush Katharina. Erik was glad that his new friend was distracted, as much as he liked the boy who had welcomed him without any doubts or hesitation, but he didn't want him to witness his shy attempts to sniff at the blond teenager fascinating him so much.

Mr. Tuchel pointed at the portal, and his pupils started to trot in the direction of it as dutifully as good and well-behaved students should do. Erik let them pass him until he was at the end of the line, turning his head to look the blond now standing only one or two meters behind him straight in his eyes.

The other boy stepped closer, smiling shyly and a little bit cautiously at him before observing the place before the cathedral one more time. Erik waited, impatiently, nervously licking over his bottom lip. His heart made a flip when the teenager eventually came to him after he had apparently found everything to his liking.

When he had reached the spot where Erik was still waiting, he smiled again, tilting his head to the side. “Hey. I'm Marco,” he said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans in a sheepish manner.

“Hi, I'm Erik,” Erik gave back not very fancifully, unconsciously mirroring Marco's posture by stuffing his own hands into his pockets and cocking his head, as well. This made the blond with the very suitable name Marco grin and relax, and he pulled his right hand out of his pocket again, regarding it before offering it to Erik. “I wanted to thank you for your great feat earlier. You really saved me!” he said, his pale cheeks coloring in an adorable pink. Erik took the right to shake it, and the touch of warm and long fingers made his heart do a somersault that was actually worthy to be shown in a circus.

“That was not to overhear,” he chuckled, and he could feel how his own cheeks flashed in the probably same red like Marco's face had changed its color into. Marco's redness deepened, but he didn't look away, just jerked his head at Erik's classmates disappearing into the belly of the huge cathedral, the opened portal reminding the teenager of the mouth of a giant wale. “We should follow them before they'll miss you,” he suggested, his eyes flickering over the throng of newly arrived teenagers of at least two other classes that were about to climb the few steps leading to the church.

“And you? Where is your class?” Erik asked curiously because Marco didn't look as if he belonged to one of these classes as he headed after his own classmates with Marco walking closely by his side. The blond boy ducked his head between his shoulders, looking cautiously around for the felt umpteenth time. “I'm alone here, I – I mean without a class. It's a little bit complicated.”

Erik frowned. “I see,” he said, even though he didn't understand what was going on, at all. Marco swallowed. “I have to go back to my companions, but I wanted to thank you and maybe ask you for your phone-number.”

“Uhm, yeah, sure.” Erik couldn't believe his luck, because he really wanted to have Marco's number, as well. He had noticed that the other boy didn't speak the same dialect as most of the Pfälzers he knew did and so he asked: “Where do you come from? You are not a Pfälzer, are you?”

Marco circled one of the large pillars staring at the ceiling in fascination. Their sneakers didn't make any sound as they strolled over the ground made of stones and marbled tiles, but Erik could hear countless footsteps of other visitors echoing in the fragrant air of the old church, heavy with the oh so many centuries the proud sacred building had watched go by.

“No, I'm not. I normally live in another city settled much more in the north-west of our country,” Marco finally replied rather ominously, and the brunet frowned again by this strange answer. Erik's class had moved forward and stood crowded in front of the lattice separating the altar from the rest of the cathedral. Mr. Tuchel was gesturing wildly while talking to his students, and he obviously hadn't noticed so far that Erik stood several meters away together with an unknown teenager. Matze had turned his head in their direction though, and he now came over to them, smiling at Marco.

Just when he had almost reached them, Marco suddenly tensed up beside him, letting out a strangled cry. Erik flinched and looked in the same direction where Marco was staring, watching three men walking towards the blond boy. It almost looked as if they were creeping up on him, and Erik could feel Marco's trembling because the teenager had instinctively moved closer to him. The three strangers were dressed in black and large sunglasses covered half of their faces although it was rather dark in the cathedral. They didn't look friendly, and before Erik had even realized what was going on, Marco had turned around on his heels and ran through the center nave to the next side exit without caring about the visitors he threatened to run down in his hurry to get away from this place and the three men.

Erik watched one of the man speeding up and without thinking, he started to run after Marco himself.

 

_The sight of the courtyard before the portal of the Cathedral of Speyer:_

  



End file.
